


Happy Endings

by ainm



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: First Times, M/M, challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 09:42:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/796826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ainm/pseuds/ainm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Several people read several letters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Endings

## Happy Endings

#### by ainm

Author's website: <http://www.geocities.com/ainm66/TS>  
Not mine, making no money, intending no copyright infringement.  
Thanks to everyone who made the first round of Sentinel Secrets such fun!  
My entry for the "Sentinel Secrets" secret fiction contest on LJ, the prompt being "a letter that impacts someone's life in some way."  


* * *

The handwritten letter fell to the coffee table next to its obviously well-traveled envelope as Blair bolted for the door. 

"You OK, Chief? Bad news?" 

"No, no, just -- need to get some air, no problem," Blair assured Jim distractedly as he shrugged into his jacket. He paused with his hand on the doorframe and shot an unreadable look over his shoulder at his partner, then slipped out the door. 

As the click of the latch seemed to echo in the loft, Jim's eyes were drawn to the letter, several sheets of what appeared to be handmade paper. 

He hadn't intended to pick it up, but there it was, in his hand. 

_But I won't read it. No_ , he told himself, even as he analyzed the handwriting, and decided it was a female, young, but not too young. 

_He left it out..._ _So what? You still have no right..._ _But that_ look -- _he_ knew _I'd have to read it..._

The side of curiosity winning the internal argument, he settled back into the sofa cushions and began to read. 

"Dear Detective Sandburg" -- Jim could see that there had been hesitation over what to call Blair, though he wasn't sure just what had been erased under the "Detective." 

"You probably don't remember me from ANTH 206 several years ago, but of course I remember you. Everyone said you were not only the best TA in the department but probably the best all-around teacher as well. You knew your stuff, you cared about your students, and you made it fun. 

"Which is probably why it hit everyone so hard when you gave that press conference. You were such a role model for all of us, and to have that suddenly turn into a lie -- well, it hurt, and I'll admit that I was one of the many who turned against you... even though a part of me knew that there was something strange going on. 

"And now it's years later, I've been teaching English in Costa Rica for nearly 18 months, and suddenly I learn that I do have reason to feel guilty after all... and I want to apologize. 

"I've just finished reading and rereading a letter I got from my cousin Sharon in Cascade. She gives a glowing account of the two detectives that helped her and my aunt and uncle when their store was one of a number of businesses torched in a string of hate crimes. 

"Detective Ellison has an uncanny knack for spotting even the tiniest shreds of physical evidence left at a crime scene, she tells me. His partner, Detective Sandburg, is the one with the people skills, and together they make an unstoppable analytic team. 

"I didn't realize right away that Detective Sandburg was you... but I knew that 'Detective Ellison' rang a bell, and suddenly the whole thing became very clear. Not only were you 'Detective Sandburg,' but you weren't a fraud after all, were you? 

"Don't worry, I understand that you must have been protecting your partner with the public statement you made, and I won't say anything about it to anyone else. But I just had to write you and apologize for believing that you could have really done it. 

"Sharon writes that you and Detective Ellison have a strong and happy partnership, in all senses of the word, and I'm so pleased to hear that there is a happy ending to your story -- even if it isn't necessarily the one you might have expected. Stay well, and keep up all your good work. 

"Most sincerely,  
Rachel Rosenstein" 

_Oh..._

_Hmm..._

_Oh!_

* * *

Jim was still sitting on the sofa, letter in hand, when Blair returned about 20 minutes after leaving so precipitously. Blair carefully hung his coat by the door and came to stand in front of his partner. 

"You read it." 

"Yeah. I'd apologize, but... well, you wanted me to read it, didn't you." It wasn't really a question. 

"No, I... yeah, maybe I did, subconsciously. Stupid, huh? I mean, _you_ know I didn't lie, I don't need you to witness my validation by some kid I don't even remember." Blair laughed, a bleak sort of sound that grated on Jim's hearing. 

"That's not why, Chief." 

"What?" 

"That's not why you left it for me to read. Or not all of it, at any rate." 

"What do you mean?" Jim heard skepticism and suspicion, but underneath he could tell that Blair was nervous. 

"I think you wanted me to read the part where the cousin thought we were... together. Lovers." 

Blair said nothing. 

"And so I read it, and I thought about it, and I thought about why you might have wanted me to read it -- if you thought it was funny, you would have just read it to me, so... I really hope I'm reading this right, forgive the pun..." 

Jim reached out and took Blair's hand, gently tugging until Blair was sitting beside him on the sofa. Blair's eyes were wide, but still he said nothing. 

It seemed strange... in all the thoughts and dreams and fantasies Jim had had over the years about finally getting to this place, it was always Blair who did the talking, took the big risk. But it seemed that the letter was to be his only contribution, and the talking would be up to him. 

He took a deep breath, and held tightly to Blair's hand, with no intention of releasing it. 

"I'm glad you let me read the letter, Blair. I hated seeing how it hurt you when the Rainier crowd believed the worst -- especially the students. I know it still bothers you sometimes, so I liked reading her apology, liked knowing that *some*one recognizes you as a good cop, and a good teacher... and a good partner." 

Blair tried to squirm out of Jim's grip, but Jim just held on, and put his other hand on Blair's knee. 

"It shouldn't matter what some kid I don't even know thinks," Blair said quietly, breaking his gaze away from Jim's. 

"You're human -- of course a little validation is nice, a chance to say 'See! I'm worth something!'. But I know that this isn't just about what _others_ think of you." 

He began to stroke Blair's leg, slowly but firmly, running his hand from knee, up thigh, and almost to groin, and back again. He was gratified to hear a quick intake of breath, feel a tension build in the body beneath his hands. 

"I'd like your story to have that happy ending, Chief. I'd like you to be able to write back to that girl and say 'Yeah, my partner and I have it all, at work and at home, and his opinion is the one that matters to me." 

Blair appeared absorbed in watching Jim's hands, still moving on his leg. Jim paused to tilt his partner's chin up and recapture his eyes once more. 

"I really want that, Blair. Please tell me that that's what you want, too..." 

Jim had been so sure at first, but as those final, unrecoverable words left his lips, he was paralyzed by the fear that he'd totally misunderstood the situation, the signs, the seemingly endless time spent building to this point, and that he'd just destroyed the most important relationship of his life. 

His breath caught in his chest -- only to be expelled with a whoosh when Blair suddenly launched himself at his partner. 

"I'll take that as a yes," Jim laughed softly into the cloud of hair brushing his face. 

"Yes, god, of course, yes," Blair groaned, clutching Jim tighter until Jim thought one of them was going to strain something. 

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't tell you before, I didn't want to mess this up, you know? We've been together so long, man... whether Sharon Rosenstein was right about _that_ kind of partnership or not, she was _definitely_ right that we're a great team in every other way -- how could I risk that? Do you understand?" 

_Once you start him up, there's no stopping him_ , Jim thought fondly. 

"Of course I understand, Chief -- I've thought the same thing for years." 

"For years?" Blair squeezed again, hard. 

"Years. I don't even really know how long... it seems like forever, you know?" 

"I know," Blair said softly, releasing Jim enough to sit back and look at his face. "I love you," he whispered, reaching a hand to touch Jim's cheek. 

"Love you too, Chief. Thanks for leaving the letter." 

"Seeing it written there in black and white, you and I as real partners... I couldn't stand not knowing any more... but I was still so scared... so thanks for the happy ending," he said with a smile. 

_I guess my turn at first moves is over_ , Jim thought fleetingly as Blair leaned in and captured Jim's lips to start the first chapter of their new story. 

* * *

End Happy Endings by ainm: ainm@livejournal.com  
Author and story notes above.

  
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